The Crest of Tattoos
by heavyheartsandhope
Summary: Kari is nervous about TK's plan to get a tattoo. Can TK convince her that it's no big deal? Mild Takari


"You're doing what?" Kari Kamiya asked, her eyebrows furrowing at the statement. She put her spoon down in her finished ice cream bowl as she turned her body towards her best friend.

TK Takaishi kept his eyes focused on the movie they were watching as he put another spoonful of vanilla ice cream in his mouth. "You heard me. I'm getting a tattoo on my birthday," he mumbled through his mouthful. "What's so wrong with that idea?"

Kari put down her bowl on the coffee table of their shared apartment. "I mean, I guess there's nothing wrong with it, but…" The girl was having a hard time collecting her thoughts. She had no idea why she was so opposed to his decision. Something about the permanency of a tattoo made her feel uncomfortable. "It's so permanent, TK," she decided, looking down at the floor instead of her best friend. "Like what if you don't like it when you're older or something."

TK smiled at how flustered she was about his tattoo. He had been planning this for a while, and now that he was going to be 20, he could finally go get it himself. He had been saving up his spare change into a fund for this specific purpose.

The boy reached for the remote on the coffee table and paused the movie. Setting down his unfinished bowl, her turned towards Kari. "You haven't even asked me what I'm getting."

Kari noted how he definitive his statement was to his goal. She didn't know why she was so uncomfortable with the idea of a tattoo on TK's body, especially since it wasn't her choice to make. She pursed her lips, still refusing to look at him. "What are you getting?" she finally asked.

"The Crest of Hope," TK answered.

Kari's eyes shot up from floor to her best friend. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of that; it seemed like an obvious choice for the DigiDestined of Hope. Looking back at all they had been through as the DigiDestined, Kari could understand why TK felt it was important enough to get it permanently tattooed on him.

TK laughed. He extended him arm out to her with his palm up. He outlined a box on his inner left forearm "Right here," he explained, looking down at his arm, "about this big." He made a four-inch gap between his thumb and index finger. "I think it'll look good there."

Kari had to admit, it would look pretty good there. She still, however, wasn't over her uncertain feeling about it. "I can't disagree," she said, uncertainty filling her voice, "but that's a very public place to put it. What about jobs and a career?"

TK laughed. "Kari, I'm studying writing at college. The least of my concerns is a visible tattoo."

Kari sighed, grabbing TK's bare forearm. "I guess. I just don't know about this, TK."

"Then come with me," TK suggested.

Kari's eyes shot from his arm to his face, a confused look on her face. "Come with you? To get your tattoo?"

TK furrowed his eyebrows, giving her a confused smile. "Yeah? Why not? If you come with me, maybe you won't be as uneasy about this."

Kari pursed her lips again, a wave of doubt crushing over her. Would going with TK really help her get over his idea, or would it just make her anxious to stop it?

TK's face went serious as he looked her directly in the eyes. "I'm getting it, whether you approve of it or not," he said. "I just thought that maybe if you saw it being put on, you would get used to it faster."

Kari winced as how straightforward her best friend was. Maybe he was right. What was the big deal about TK getting something meaningful tattooed onto him? Forever? She shook her head of the thought. It wasn't her place to say what TK could or could not do with his body. And if he wanted her to be there, it was the least she could do.

Letting out a long sigh, she nodded. "Okay, I'll come with you," she agreed, still uneasy about it. "But I'm not gonna like it!"

TK laughed at her pouting as he reached back for the remote. "You don't have to like it. You aren't the one getting inked."

* * *

Kari felt her skin crawl as TK led her into the tattoo shop. The walls were lined with artwork of snakes and half-naked women, and small animal skulls with mandala designs decorated the shelves. She felt herself shrink inwards as TK talked to the receptionist about the appointment he had made. Kari cautiously walked around, not wanting to touch anything, taking in the atmosphere. It felt like what she thought a tattoo shop would feel like: an artsy, yet creepy place.

TK thanked the receptionist and turned around to Kari. "It'll be about 15 minutes," he explained, walking over to the couch in the lobby. He sat down and immediately picked up a large photobook from the table, flipping through the pictures inside.

Kari sighed again, then sat down next to TK, still trying to make herself smaller. She looked down at photobook and saw the previous tattoos done by the artist. There were quotes on ribcages, roses on calves, and huge dragons on backs. Kari's face scrunched up at the photos, not making her feel better about TK's decision.

TK stopped on a page, a photo obviously enticing him. "Kari, look." He pointed to a photo on the top corner.

Kari saw what looked to be the back of a woman's shoulder, wear two small feet were placed. Above the feet read "Tai," the same name as her brother. "That's sweet," Kari said, despite her dislike about the idea.

TK's finger moved down the photo below it. Kari noticed it was the same picture, but with two dates now below it: "23/04/2005-17/12/2005." Kari took a sharp breath as she looked at the time stamp on each photo. They were only four months apart.

"You mean…" Kari's voice cracked. "She got her baby's feet tattoo on her and then…" She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

"Yeah," TK whispered, noting how sad the situation was. "Must be a special tattoo for her, to remember her son."

"It is," the receptionist spoke up. Kari and TK looked up at her as she smiled, then turned around to the computer, revealing the tattoo from the pictures on her back.

TK returned back to flipping through the photobook, but Kari couldn't stop staring at the receptionist's tattoo. It compelled her to stare. That tattoo represented a mother's joy and sorrow, a baby's whole life. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. One tattoo tells a whole story.

She looked down at TK's bare forearm and thought about his upcoming tattoo. The Crest of Hope holds a whole story to him. It represents all of the battles he fought in the Digital World, and all of the friends he made along the way. It represented his bond with Patamon and how special being a DigiDestined is. A simple tattoo could represent all of that for TK.

Kari now understood how much this meant to him.

She felt the uneasy feeling diminish a little as she began to understand. She looked up from her best friend's forearm to his face, still buried in the photobook.

Once he realized he was being stared at, he turned his head away from the photos towards her. A concerned look washed over his face. "Everything okay, Kari?" he asked.

Kari pursed her lips again and nodded. As much as she didn't like it, she knew why he wanted to get this tattoo. All she could reply was, "I get it now."

TK's mouth formed a small smile before he nodded back at her.

* * *

Kari looked over nervously as the buzz of the tattoo machine resonated through the room. She watched TK's face as he looked down happily at the inside of his forearm. She noticed how he winced every once in a while, but he was still content with what was going on. She couldn't bring herself to look at the tattoo for too long, even sitting on TK's right side so she wouldn't be so near it.

TK looked over at Kari, noticing the nervous look on her face. Without a word, TK reached over with his right hand to grab hers. He smiled at her to show he was okay before nodding.

"You know, normally the person getting tattooed has to have the guest hold their hand," the tattoo artist chuckled, taking a break to get more black ink. "Not the other way around."

TK let out a small laugh at the artists before turning back to Kari. "She's just worried about me," he explained. "I'm fine, Kari. See? It's almost done."

Kari turned her attention back to his arm. The tattoo was almost done, just missing three triangles at the top. Even incomplete, she had to admit that it just looked right on her best friend's arm, like it belonged there all along. She moved her eyes back to TK's face. He smiled at her, looking for approval. Even though she had originally not liked the idea, she smiled back at him. "It fits," she admitted, as the artist began to finish the rest of it. TK's smile grew and he turned his attention back to his arm.

It made him happy. How could she not like it? His tattoo had so much symbolism behind it. The Crest of Hope meant a lot to him, just like the Crest of Light did to her. All of their crests represented a part of who they are. With that in mind, Kari didn't know why TK was the first one to think about getting it permanently on them. They were already embedded with the power the crests held, so why not show that symbol?

Why did she think this was a bad idea at all?

"All done," the artist said proudly, pulling Kari from her thought. She watched as the artist cleaned up TK's arm and give him aftercare advice. Kari smiled, knowing how happy this made TK. Now complete, Kari noted how good it looked, even though it was just an outline.

TK looked up at his best friend with a sly smile. "Well, still think it was a bad idea?"

Kari shook her head, still staring at his new tattoo. "No, I don't," she admitted. "In fact, I think it was the perfect thing to do."

TK raised an eyebrow, shocked by her complete change of mind on the topic. "You do?"

Kari let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I do. I was just thinking why you were the first one of us to do this. It seems like an appropriate thing to do, considering how important the crests are."

The artist moved away from the chair, allowing TK to stand up and lead Kari out to the lobby again. "So does that mean you'll be getting one soon?" he joked, knowing how freaked out he was at the mere mention of his tattoo.

Kari though about what he said. Despite her initial reaction, maybe getting the Crest of Light tattooed on her would be the right thing to do. After all of the adventures she had been on thanks to her crest, it only seemed appropriate.

Before TK could reach to open the door and lead the two out, Kari turned around towards the counter and walked up to receptionist. "Does any artist have an opening tonight?" she asked, pulling out her phone. "I have a small tattoo I'd like to get."

* * *

"Hey, everyone! TK and Kari are here!" Yolie's voice rang out from down the beach.

Kari waved towards everyone as TK carried the cooler, with Patamon and Gatomon close behind. The Digimon ran toward them as they finally caught up with the rest of the DigiDestined.

"Sorry we're late," TK explained, setting down the cooler as Patamon jumped off of his head. "Someone wouldn't wake up today."

Kari rolled her eyes and smiled as Tai gave her a hug. "Okay, blame it on me," she conceded, remembering TK's loud pounding on her door that morning. Nothing could upset her that day. It had been such a long time since all of the DigiDestined had gotten together. The last time she could remember was two years previous, before she went away for university with TK. She hadn't seen her brother since the beginning of the semester months ago. This beach trip was exactly what the group needed.

After greeting everyone, Kari laid out her towel and sat down next to TK and Yolei. TK stretched his arms up to take his shirt off.

Kari saw Matt's eyebrows furrow at his little brother. "TK, you have something on your arm."

TK tucked his shirt into his bag before looking down at both arms, confused, searching for what Matt said was on his arm. "I don't see anything," TK questioned.

Sora sat up to look at the younger DigiDestined. Noticing what Matt noticed, she grabbed his left wrist and made his tattoo face the others. "I think Matt means this," she explained, forcing everyone to see his crest.

"Oh, that!" TK exclaimed, taking his arm back. "I forgot you guys don't know yet. I got a tattoo for my 20th birthday."

Matt looked closely at his little brother's arm. "You got your crest tattooed on you?"

TK looked confused. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" he asked.

Matt continued to examine TK's tattoo, keeping quiet for a minute before turning around to watch Gabumon play by the ocean. "I'm not implying that you shouldn't have. I'm just upset that I didn't think about it first."

Tai laughed as Matt turn around. "Seems like TK here is the most connected to his crest out of all of us."

Kari smiled, turning around to get her sunglasses out of her bag. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Tai." Before he could question her, Kari lifted her hair into a short ponytail, revealing her Crest of Light tattoo on the back of her neck.

Tai's eyes popped wide open at his little sister's tattoo. "Kari, when did you get that?"

Kari turned around, putting her sunglasses on as she smiled at her brother's reaction. "Same night as TK. At first, I was against the idea of TK getting a tattoo, but after watching him get his, I decided that it was the right thing to do, considering how important the Digital World is in our lives."

TK elbowed her side. "Yeah, and she only shed two tears the whole time," he joked.

Kari playfully shoved him back. "Just be thankful I didn't break your fingers. Some parts of that really hurt."

"Yeah, that's near the bones in your neck," Joe added his medical expertise to the conversation. "Just make sure to clean them well when you get back to your apartment, or you could risk an infection."

Mimi jumped up from her sunbathing and made her way to Kari, looking at her tattoo. "That's so cute!" she exclaimed. "Minimalist neck tattoos are totally trending in America!"

Davis ran over from the water, shaking his hair of the water. "What's trending? Why's everyone staring at Kari?"

Tai sighed, leaning back down on his towel with his hands as a pillow. "Kari and TK got matching tattoos," he explained.

Davis eyed the two DigiDestined with great concern. Without asking, TK and Kari showed him their crest tattoos. "Though I would hardly call them matching," TK corrected.

Cody, looking up from watching Izzy's computer, rebutted, "Oh, they're matching, alright."

Kari's eyes narrowed as she removed her sunglasses to look questioningly at Izzy. "How so?" What could someone who brings a computer to the beach know about matching tattoos?

"Well, think about it," Izzy began to explain. "The crests of hope and light have always been more intertwined than any other crest combination. Just look at your Digimon." Izzy turned the screen around, showing the Digimon index of Angemon and Angewomon. "Your crests have always been a pair."

TK and Kari turned towards each other at this new information. TK shrugged, "He has a point."

Davis let out a disgruntled moan. "So first you go off to university with him, then you get an apartment with him, and now you get a matching tattoo with him? Why don't you two just start dating already?"

Tai sat up at Davis' lament. Tai had always suspected something was going on between his sister and TK, but Kari always assured him that nothing was happening. He saw TK and Kari both turn red in embarrassment at the question, like it may have been obvious they were a couple.

"No, we're just friends," Kari stammered, looking away from TK and back to the group.

"Yeah, what she said," TK agreed, trying his hardest to look away from Kari.

Tai scoffed, standing up from his towel with his soccer ball in his hand. He went over to Davis, pulling him away to start a game with the Digimon. "Yeah, yeah," Tai said, "Tell that to your couple tattoo."


End file.
